UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Has Acquired Nearly 3,000 Quilts by African American Artists, a Posthumous Gift From Collector Eli Leon
Untitled 1996 quilt by Rosie Lee Tompkins OVER THE COURSE of three decades, Eli Leon assembled a collection of nearly 3,000 quilts by both well-known and little-known African American artists. Leon died last year and through a posthumous bequest, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) has acquired the unparalleled collection....
Jessica Bell Brown Has Been Hired by the Baltimore Museum of Art as Associate Curator for Contemporary Art
THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART is expanding its contemporary art department, hiring Jessica Bell Brown and Leila Grothe as associate curators. They are joining a growing team of female curators at BMA led by chief curator Asma Naeem and fortified by senior research and programming curator Katy Siegel. A New York-based writer, curator, and...
Painter Ed Clark, 93, a Pioneering Figure in Post-War Abstraction, Has Died
Artist Ed Clark (1926-2019) A SINGULAR FIGURE in post-war Abstraction, Ed Clark (1926-2019) died Oct. 18 in Detroit. He was 93. Clark is recognized for his innovation, experimentation, and seductive use of color. Over seven decades, he built a practice influenced by his education in Chicago and Paris, exposure to European modernists, and a...
Latest News in African American Art: Arthur Jafa Wins PIAC, Black Last Supper Uncovered, Firelei Báez at ICA Boston, Nick Cave Among ‘Greats,’ Simone Leigh Acquisition & More
Last Supper by Akili Ron Anderson. | Photo by Evy Mages, Courtesy the photographer The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS A construction crew made a monumental discovery earlier this month. A black Last Supper frieze was found behind drywall at a...
Dwight A. McBride Named First Black President of The New School in New York
A CENTURY AFTER ITS FOUNDING, the New School has appointed its first black president and the first person of color to lead the institution. Dwight A. McBride will serve as the ninth president of the New School, which regards itself as a nexus for scholars, artists, and designers. Established in 1919, the New York City...
Latest News in African American Art: Artist Selection for J. Marion Sims Replacement Monument Goes Sideways, 2021 Whitney Biennial Curators Announced & More
VINNIE BAGWELL, Rendering for “Victory Beyond Sims,” 2019. Bagwell’s proposal envisioning a “majestic angel” to replace the Central Park monument to J. Marion Sims was favored by representatives of the community and ultimately emerged as the city’s official choice. | Courtesy the artist ACQUISITIONS Eleven works from South African artist Zanele Muholi‘s “Faces and...
Latest News in African American Art: Kehinde Wiley’s First Public Monument Unveiled, Darren Walker Joins National Gallery of Art Board & More
The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS Joined by a sea of onlookers gathered in Times Square, Kehinde Wiley unveiled “Rumors of War” (2019) on Sept. 27. The artist’s first public monument is made of patinated bronze and stands more than 27...
2019 MacArthur Fellows Include Artist Cameron Rowland and Landscape Architect Walter Hood
Landscape Architect Walter Hood EARLIER THIS YEAR, Cameron Rowland had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles. His research-based practice brings attention to generations of systemic racism and inequality upheld by government institutions and longstanding polices. For his MOCA show, he focused his scrutiny on the museum, which benefitted...
Artes Mundi Prize Shortlist Announced, 6 Artists Include Carrie Mae Weems, Firelei Báez, and Dineo Seshee Bopape
THE WINNER OF FORTHCOMING Artes Mundi Prize will be an artist of color. A shortlist of six artists vying for the ninth edition of the biennial prize was announced Sept. 24. The artists are Firelei Báez (Dominican Republic), Dineo Seshee Bopape (South Africa), Meiro Koizumi (Japan), Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (Puerto Rico), Prabhakar Pachpute (India),...
Denene De Quintal Appointed Assistant Curator of Native American Art at Detroit Institute of Arts
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA) has named Denene De Quintal assistant curator of Native American art in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and Indigenous Americas. De Quintal is joining the DIA after serving for two years as the inaugural Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow in Native Arts at the Denver...
A Pioneer of Conceptual Art, Lorna Simpson Receives 2019 Getty Medal
AGAINST A STORMY BACKDROP, the 2019 J. Paul Getty Medals were presented to Mary Beard, an author and classics professor at the University of Cambridge, and American artists Ed Ruscha and Lorna Simpson. The recipients were announced in January and a dinner was held in their honor Sept. 16. Simpson’s recent paintings have been...
Crystal Bridges Museum Announced 29 Acquisitions, Adding Works by Emma Amos, Jordan Casteel, Clementine Hunter, Henry O. Tanner, and Kehinde Wiley to Collection
EMMA AMOS, “The Reader,” 1967 (oil on canvas in artist’s frame, 41 1/4 × 61 inches). | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York A PORTRAIT of a Harlem suit shop owner by Jordan Casteel is on view in the 1940s to Now...
Osei Bonsu Named Curator of International Art at Tate Modern in London
THE TATE MODERN MUSEUM in London announced new appointments to its curatorial team today, covering African, Middle Eastern and South Asian modern and contemporary art. Nabila Abdel Nabi (Middle East and North Africa), Osei Bonsu (Africa), and Devika Singh (South Asia), have been named curators, international art. Valentina Ravaglia’s new role is curator, displays and...
Cameron Shaw is the New Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles
THE CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM (CAAM) announced a new appointment today. Curator, writer, and editor Cameron Shaw has been named deputy director and chief curator of the Los Angeles Museum. Shaw is the co-founder of Pelican Bomb, a New Orleans-based contemporary art nonprofit that provided a platform for exhibitions, public programming, and arts journalism. For...
